Good Budo books

[Bahamutzero1059]

As i stated befor in one of my other posts...i have an obsession with battodo/battojutsu....and im planning to take classes. however the class is pretty far for an hour class. being 33 miles away in the city of chicago. and working the mid day shift..12-9pm

so befor i can find time to get there i wanna get some books on practice. any one know any good batto books or where i can find them.

thanks~

[Brian Owens]

The problem with getting books before joining a dojo is that what is written in any particular book may not apply to the style taught by the dojo you eventually join. You could end up with a lot of contradictory information.

If you're trying to teach yourself the physical skills of swordsmanship from a book it's even worse; you could develope some bad habits that may be hard to break. Books are best used to learn about swordsmanship, not to learn swordsmanship itself, or to serve as a memory aid for out-of-class practice once you're under the guidance of a qualified teacher.

That said, if you can keep an open mind and remember that there are multiple ways of doing things, more than one name for things, and often different things being meant by the same word, then there are a few books that can serve as starting points for your study.

I own two of the three books I know of by Obata Sensei, and while the older ones may be out of print you may still be able to find them on Amazon or eBay.

These are: Crimson Steel, Naked Blade, and -- the newest -- Shinkendo.

HTH.

[Douglas Wylie]

33 miles is really close.

[Bahamutzero1059]

33 miles is like an hour from me...city driving >.< but i visited the dojo today. i was impressed with the instructors there...classes seemed to have enough lecture/demo and practice time as well as the instructor spending time with you alone on the kata.

im planning Aikido and also Battodo and Mugai Ryu Iaihyodo...sword arts being at the same meets.

i just wanted books to know what im infor and get an idea of the art and style.

i cant wait.
thanks for the book ideas.
later~